being apart: photographs by Michaela Zimmer

5 October 2001 to 6 January 2002

Please note that this exhibition has now closed

The Conservation Centre hosted a two-year residency by photography-, sculpture- and performance artist Michaela Zimmer, starting in January 2000. The residency, the first of its kind at the Conservation Centre, was supported by the North West Arts Board.

Michaela Zimmer's physical creative process culminates in a photographic record of her activity, capturing her interactions with surroundings and performances without audiences. More than thirty photographs documenting the work she produced during her residency were displayed in her exhibition 'being apart'. A catalogue was also produced to accompany the show.

Sudley House intervention

On 9 May 2001 Michaela Zimmer held an event at Sudley House, Liverpool.

The audience was invited to visit Sudley House to discover a small but significant change to the hang of the collection. Michaela had replaced Millais' portrait of Vanessa, in the library, with one of her own works. At first glance it looked like a mirror, but closer inspection revealed that it was in fact a colour photograph of the library itself that features a performance that she did in that room in December 2000.

This intervention has not been announced or labelled and those who attended only discovered it as they wandered through the gallery. The event encouraged the visitors to look again at a special building and at a beautiful collection.

Michaela Zimmer

After working as an artist in Berlin for several years, Michaela studied for an MA in sculpture at Chelsea College of Art & Design, London.

Her work is best described as "an ongoing research for a physical relationship to objects" using various disciplines. It comprises of experiences in dance as well as in sculpture, but it is the frozen moment of movement that she is most interested in and captures in her photographs.

Michael Simpson, then curator of fine art at the Walker, explained

"Zimmer's work crosses traditional boundaries, encompassing performance, sculpture, body art, film and photography. Her process-based work finds its richness in its complex character.

The Conservation Centre is a highly stimulating environment for an artist. This residency scheme extends and enhances the ways in which National Museums Liverpool seeks to engage its audiences in contemporary art."

'Journey' by Michaela Zimmer

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